The word of God furnishes us completely unto every good work. But as we learned this morning, many of His instructions are left in general form and must be applied according to our best judgment.[3]For this reason, God endowed us with intelligence, and admonished us to pray for further wisdom that we might be able to serve Him in decency and in order.
We should not be disturbed by the fact that there are certain decisions which we have to make according to our own best judgment. I believe there is a very good reason why God made this arrangement. Simply because the detailed instructions that would fit one place might not be suitable at another. For instance, you had to decide how big to make this house in which you worship. Suppose God had specified that a house of worship should be 50 × 40 feet. That might be a suitable building for one community, but out of order in another.
Since circumstances are so widely different in different places it was an act of wisdom on the part ofGod to give us only the general principles that should govern certain activities and to leave each community to use its own intelligence in applying these general principles in a sensible, expedient and practical way. But it does impose upon us a responsibility of using some intelligence, of making some wise decisions, and of giving some thought and consideration unto our plans.
1.Autonomy of the local church.As some of you know, I was requested last fall to teach a series of lessons at Grace Avenue on the subject of church leadership. When I contemplated the task I wondered what I would say, but before it was over I was wondering how I would find time to say what was to be said. Of course, church leadership means leadership in the local congregation because that is the only capacity in which the church can scripturally function.
Congregational autonomy needs to be emphasized. God has ordained that each congregation shall be entirely independent to manage its own affairs under him without any interference or dictation from any other congregation or from any other group of people upon the earth. Since God has ordained that each congregation shall be independent, we cannot function in the capacity of a group of congregations organized together.
No inter-congregational organization can scripturally exist. Therefore, there can be no inter-congregational ownership of property. We cannot own property as a whole, that is, as a group of congregations. You could not deed a piece of property to the church of Christ in general. It has to be deeded to a particular congregation. That’s the only way the church can scripturally function. Therefore, when we speak about leadership in the church, we are speaking of the leadership in the local congregation.
2.Distribution of work.Now I realize that in the church there is not such a clear cut division of labor or responsibility as there is in a business organization because in the church every member is vitally interested in every phase of the work. To use an illustration: I taught temporarily at Peabody last spring in the mathematics department. Except for a very general interest in the welfare of the school and my fellowman, it made no difference to me what the history teacher next door did or said. I had no responsibility in reference to his work. There was a clear cut division between his department and mine. In the church our relationship to each other is too intimate and our interest in the general welfare too great for such a clear cut division of responsibility to exist.
However, for the sake of efficiency there should be some distribution of responsibility or work, for the very simple reason that what is everybody’s business tends to become nobody’s business.Unless there is some mutual agreement as to who shall do what,there is a danger that a great many necessary tasks will be neglected.Some congregations that are large have a distribution of responsibility among the elders themselves. Instead of bringing up every little detail before a general business meeting, certain ones are delegated to look after certain phases of the work and to make all minor decisions regarding the same.
For instance, I know a congregation which has a maintenance committee, authorized by the overseers, to keep the building in repair up to the point of spending so many dollars each month. There’s a limit placed upon what they can spend. They don’t have to get expressions from all the elders before they replace a broken window light, or make other minor repairs. This responsibility and authority has already been scripturally and officially delegated to them. That illustrates what we mean, then, by division of responsibility—a location of responsibility and a distribution of the tasks that are to be performed.
3.Responsibility of making thoughtful decisions.As we proceed I cannot quote a lot of Scripture tonight, for the mere reason that I’m talking about the sphere in which God has not given specific instructions. That’s where the leadership of the church comes in. In this sphere the overseers of the church have a great responsibility. Oh, I could spend two or three hours reciting Scriptures and discussing the qualifications and work of elders. But it’s not our purpose to discuss that field at this time. We are discussing the sphere, mentioned in the lesson thismorning, where God has given only general instructions.[4]Why, friends, where God has givenspecificinstructions the overseers don’t have to make any decisions. They simply follow the directions given. It’s just exactly in the realm where specific instructions have not been given that the overseers are called upon to make decisions of their own. Where God has specified, they have very little responsibility. They have no responsibility in making decisions for God has already made the decisions.
But there are a thousand questions that God has not answered specifically. Just to mention a few, He doesn’t tell us what kind of song books to use. He didn’t tell you how big to make this house, or how many windows to put in each wall. He doesn’t tell you how many meetings to have each week. He doesn’t tell you how often you should have a protracted meeting, or how many classes to have on Lord’s day morning, or how you should arrange your missionary program, how many preachers you should employ and what part of each one’s support you should furnish. A hundred other questions could be mentioned, which God has not specifically answered. And, therefore, the elders, the overseers, in every congregation, must make decisions for themselves in reference to these things.
Please don’t think that I’m going to tell you the answer to these questions, for if I were to do so,then I would be making specifications where God has made none, and, therefore, going beyond that which is written. But the one thing I do want to do tonight is to insist that a great deal of thought and study be given to all such matters and that instead of making decisions on them recklessly or thoughtlessly or without proper meditation and study, the very opposite should be the case.
All such questions, even though they may appear to be insignificant in their nature, should be weighed very carefully. For, if there is any field of work in all this world in which we want to do our very best, it is in the work of the Lord; and be it ever so good in the past, we want to make it better in the future; for God expects us to grow in His work, and to become better and better as the days go by. So the one point that I’m emphasizing most of all is that inall these decisions a great deal of study, thought, and prayer should be used.
Sometimes I have been surprised at how carelessly decisions were made in certain business meetings of churches where I have labored. I have seen important decisions determined by a very slight suggestion from some individual member of the group and passed immediately, without any time being taken to carefully study the issues involved. I believe that what a church business meeting will do is about the most unpredictable thing in the world. Some of their decisions are made with such little study and with such little thought that it’s almost impossible to know what may happen when such a meeting iscalled. Now I believe that God expects us to use wisdom in this field where He has left us to our own judgment. There are Scriptures which authorize this statement. Some of them were used this morning. For instance, “Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Matt. 10:16). Or again, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40).
4.Importance of careful planning.Every outstanding business organization in this country has its post-war plans already worked out. It has its blueprints drawn, and those plans have not been made hastily. They have been worked out after a great deal of research, investigation and study. The directors of those businesses have come together and have consulted with each other. They have exchanged ideas. They have weighed details. And after all of that study and work, they have mapped out their plans for the years ahead.
Many of these business men are members of the church, and I maintain that, if men who are able to succeed in the commercial and professional world will apply the same diligent study and careful planning to the work of the church, then it will succeed far more than it has in the past. There is no other organization in all this world which would have survived as much mismanagement or neglect as the church of Jesus Christ has survived. Someone has said that the church is certainly a divine institution or it would have perished from the earth long ago through neglect or bad management. I have confidence in the leaders of the churches. I have confidencein their ability. I believe that they are interested. If they will give to the work of the church the same careful study which they devote to the plans for their business enterprises, I believe we will be able to make greater progress.
Just to give you an illustration close at hand, everyone will agree that the effectiveness of our Thursday evening services has been very greatly increased by a group of men coming together and carefully planning the programs. If the attendance is to be taken as indication of what you think about them, then they have been improved at least one hundred per cent. The attendance is now twice as much as it was before. I am of the firm conviction that what has been done for the Thursday evening meeting can be done for every other phase of the work of the church if it is properly studied and planned.
In some of my connections outside the church I have been greatly impressed with the conscientiousness with which certain people go about their work. The head of a department out at Peabody, who is engaged in educational work, which certainly isn’t one tenth as important as the work of the church, studies every little detail. He takes into consideration all the facts that are at his disposal. He is continually revising his program and endeavoring to improve his methods. He listens to every report that he receives. He will call a conference of those who are working under him and discuss ways and means of making his work more effective.
Now, if educational work deserves such carefulstudy as that, surely the work of the church deserves even more. And yet, friends, I know congregations—great, big congregations—that never do have any sort of a business meeting. Just think of it! They don’t even have a business meeting! The overseers never get together to ponder the problems which confront the local congregation, or to study ways and means of improving their work.
Now, please remember that the fact that the Bible furnishes us completely unto every good work does not relieve us of the responsibility which I am emphasizing. Anyone who stops to study the matter will realize that this is true, because there are so many questions which the Bible does not answer specifically. We must study and give diligence and pray for wisdom and use whatever talent the Lord has given us to make His work just as successful as possible.
It needs to be emphasized that the difference between success and failure very often consists not of any one great big item but of a great many details or small factors working together. Not one big thing but many little things working together very often makes the difference between success and failure—in every phase of life except the church. In the church they make the difference between outstanding success and just mediocre success. It is very difficult for the church to fail completely. As long as it followsthe Bible there can be no failure, but thoselittlethings frequently make up the difference between outstanding success and merely mediocre success, between doing something that’s really worthwhile, outstanding and unusual, and just drifting and dragging along.
1.Running a store.I want to try to make this point clear by use of an illustration. There are some of you here who are in the mercantile business. You know lots more about running stores than I do. I believe you will agree that very often the difference between success and failure there consists of many little items working together—the manner in which you display your goods on the shelves, the spirit with which you meet your customers when they come into your place of business, the courtesy with which you render service to your patrons, and just a lot of these little things make up the difference.
You don’t make a lot of money on any one item, but making a small profit on each of a great many items is what finally spells success. If you will consider the men who have made fortunes in this world, I believe you will find that they did not get rich by making a whole lot of money on one item or unit of business, but by making a little money on each of a great many items. The difference between success and failure then is not always one big thing, but frequently many little things working together. You can never fill a barrel by pouring water into the bunghole while it is running out a thousand nail holes.
2.Keeping house.The same thing applies to house work. I don’t know much about housekeeping, but I’ve had a chance to observe quite a bit of it as I’ve gone around over the country. And I try to determine the difference between a good housekeeper and just an ordinary housekeeper. I’m convinced that it consists not of one big factor but of a great many details—the arrangement of this little piece of furniture, having the magazines up off the floor, a definite place to keep each of numerous little articles, the spider webs out of that corner, and many other little things. I don’t know what all of them are, but some of you ladies do, and I’m sure you get the point.
3.Leading singing.The same thing is true in church work. I remember sitting and listening to a song director who is very outstanding and who has won national recognition for his ability to direct congregational singing. I tried to determine what made him so successful. I concluded that it was no one big factor, but a lot of little details about the way he directed the service; and I’m sure that Brother Murphy, who is helping us on Thursday nights, will verify this statement.
4.Selecting building site.Let us consider other details of church work. Any one of them by itself is not so terribly important, and I’m sure that I could find someone who would argue with me about any one of them, and say, “Oh, well, after all that doesn’t matter,” but when you take all of them together it does matter. It makes the difference between outstanding success and mere existence. Take for instancethe location of the church building. In many instances very poor judgment has been used in selecting building sites.
A certain North Carolina town is still a missionary point, even though there has been a church in it for at least 25 years. The church building is located on a dirty back street. There isn’t a store in the community. No business man would have located one there! Neither is there a school building in the community. No board of education in the world would have put one there. After 25 years in such a location the church is still very small and weak. Very recently they finally decided, after a painful division, to move up town.
I shall not exaggerate in describing their building. The walls were painted, but the overhead was not. There was no rug, no paint, no carpet of any kind on the floor. The benches were such as you cannot find in any country schoolhouse in Davidson County. They were such as you might have found seventy or seventy-five years ago. Hanging on the wall just inside the door there was a mop which was used to clean the floor and over the pulpit a bottle opener with which they unfastened the grape juice each Sunday morning. Over on this side of the building there was a country-store stove with a pipe running all the way across the building and into the wall on the other side. There was a baptistry but no dressing rooms. The people had to come down the aisle to a hole in the floor to be baptized and go up the aisle and to some neighbor’s house to change their clothes. Well,now, are you surprised that this church hasn’t grown?
Down at Kannapolis where I went to hold a meeting, they had a church building on a side street to a side street that got so muddy during the wintertime that they had to discontinue some of their meetings. Every time Brother Flannery was called upon to tell someone how to find the building he would hang his head. I noticed him one night during our tent meeting; he started to announce the location of the building and unconsciously his head went down. He was ashamed of it. And there would be little hope for the work at Kannapolis if they had not decided to remedy that situation. But they’ve already bought two nice lots downtown on which we held the tent meeting and where they will locate a church building as soon as possible.
5.Keeping the building in proper condition.Along with thelocationof the building is theconditionof the building. Literally, I have preached in church buildings where the temperature was about 60° or 55° when the service began and 85° when it closed. People would have on their overcoats when I started to preach and want to pull off their shirts before it was over! Well, you may say that that doesn’t make any difference; but you take one hundred little things like that and it does make a great deal of difference.
The arrangement of the program may look like a small item, but it’s one of those little items, which, taken along with others, makes a big difference. Reports and records of the treasurer and of other workersin the church are important. Our attitude toward strangers when they visit our meetings is significant. That’s one respect in which the Chapel Avenue congregation is outstanding. Your courtesy to strangers has caused much favorable comment.
6.Advertising the work of the church.I’ve known churches to spend three or four hundred dollars to get a preacher, and refuse to spend $25 to get the people there to hear him. Think about that! You know the preacher can’t do any good unless the people are there. I went to a certain city in West Virginia to hold a meeting, and I wrote to them in advance urging them to advertise the meeting. Well, I couldn’t say too much, you know. They’d think I was trying to get them to advertise me. After I arrived I asked them if they’d advertised the meeting. They said, “Oh, yes.” I looked around for a sign but I didn’t see one. The church building was located on a through highway that ran from the North to the South. A streamer across the road would have attracted the attention of everybody who passed. They hadn’t put one up. I looked in the store windows and saw no ads. I saw none anywhere.
I decided to find out whether they had advertised the meeting. It was a small town where everybody is supposed to know what everybody else is doing anyway—only about 1,000 people. I went to the stores and inquired whether a meeting was going on in town. In every store I entered I was thoroughly informed about a Nazarene meeting. One fellow got so enthusiastic that he took me out on the street andshowed me the preacher’s house and told me where they were holding the meeting. After they would finish their story I’d always ask if there were any other meetings going on in town. In each case the answer was, “No.”
In our meeting that night I related my experiment and its results. And I said, “Now, don’t think I told those people any better. I thought I’d help you keep the secret!” That’s the principle on which a great many churches work.
Remember that you have not advertised the work of the church when you merely let people know it’s going on. You haven’t advertised it until youmake them want a part in it! Everybody in this country knows that the Standard Oil Company has gasoline for sale. If that were the end of advertising, they could discontinue theirs. But that’s not the purpose of it. Their purpose is to make peoplewantStandard gasoline, so they keep on advertising. Too often we think we’ve advertised the church just because people know it’s in existence, but we have not advertised it until we make them want a part in it.
7.Handling the finances.Another little detail that needs careful consideration is the planning of the financial program of the church. There is one important respect in which the finance of the church is different from that of any other organization. I’m not a business man, but I know, nevertheless, that it’s well for a business concern to keep a good surplus on hand. The bigger margin they can keep between their income and their outgo, the better offthey are. Consequently the administrators of such businesses endeavor to build up a big bank account; but friends, that’s the worst thing that can happen to a congregation! You cannot get a group of people to give into a treasury that has several thousand dollars in the bank. You cannot get people to give to a church when they know it is not needed.
I got a big surprise a few years ago when I preached in a certain town on the subject of giving. After I’d finished the members began coming to me and saying, “Why there’s no need of telling us about that. We have several thousand dollars in the bank. Why should we give? This congregation doesn’t need any money.”
Recently I held a meeting for another church which had $10,000 in the bank. I didn’t know it, so I preached on giving and got the same reaction. During the rest of that meeting I preached onspending! Before the meeting closed the congregation had plans to start a new congregation in the north end of town. Since I left they have bought a building for $4,500, paid cash for it, and started a new congregation with about fifty or sixty members. They were going to wait until the war was over. I wonder what they would have done in case of the Hundred Years War! That question occurs to me when people talk about postponing church work until after the war is over. We cannot afford to let the Lord’s work wait until the world quits fighting!
It’s essential in reference to the financial program of the church that plans for Scriptural spending bekept right up with, or a little ahead of, the income; because the income is flexible. When the congregation sees an increased need and a growing program, then the contributions will be increased accordingly. I don’t blame people for not giving to a treasury that’s already overflowing. I wouldn’t want to contribute to a church whose leaders would not spend the money that was contributed. I’d find some other avenue through which to contribute. When it is necessary to set aside a fund for a new building, or some other major, anticipated expense, the money should be earmarked and not counted as part of the operating account. The financial program of the church is one of many problems that needs to be given some careful study.
8.Avoiding disappointment.I want to give you another illustration. When I went to a certain town to preach, the ladies, some of whom were even from another congregation, began insisting on having a ladies’ Bible class. They said that the preacher over at this other church wouldn’t have one. I asked why. They answered, “Because it always dies on his hands, and leaves a bad feeling—a feeling of failure.” I replied, “All right, we’ll have one and not let it die. We’re just going to continue it twelve weeks. Then we will be through.”
I planned a twelve-week course. The interest and attendance grew throughout the twelve weeks. Some insisted upon its being continued longer but I said, “No, we may start another one soon, but we’ve finished this one.” You know there’s a big differencebetween quitting because you’ve finished and quitting because you’ve failed. You can always start again if you think it wise to do so. It is prudent to set a time limit on all activities of the church except those which are essential or already established.
When I was doing missionary work in Richmond, Virginia, I didn’t ask churches to send me “a contribution;” I asked them to send me a definite amount for a definite period of time. Then, when they had promised, they felt obligated to give that much for that length of time. You know, if there isn’t some agreement about the amount and the length of time, people will think, “Well, it’s got to stop sometime and the church has as much right to discontinue it or say when it should be discontinued as the preacher has,” and so after awhile it just plays out. But if a congregation promises to send you $10 a month for twelve months, they are almost certain to do it. That’s just another one of those little details. All such things have to be worked out according to human judgment. They have to be learned by experience and observation. The Bible does not specify them.
I could go on talking like this indefinitely, but all these items are mentioned for illustrative purposes, and to emphasize the one central point I want to drive home tonight. That is, that God has left a field in which he has not made specifications, in which we must make decisions, and thosedecisions ought to be made thoughtfully. They ought to be made deliberately, and every little detail ought to be studiedmost carefully, for after all,we are engaged in the greatest work on this earth!
I want to raise one more question and then we’ll have to close. We hear people speaking in the business world about “the point of diminishing returns.” Maybe I should tell you what that means or give you a simple illustration. Suppose you drive out on a muddy road like Brother Estevez was talking about this afternoon and get your car real dirty and come home to wash it. You turn on the hose pipe and go over it one time, and it doesn’t look like the same car. The first going over makes a big difference, a very obvious difference, but you don’t have it clean yet. You go over it again and you get it a little bit cleaner, but it’s not as noticeable this time. Then you get some soap and wash it real good and get off some more dirt, but the difference doesn’t show very plainly this time. The car still isn’t clean. You take some cleaning wax and go over it again and get off a lot more dirt. Then you can take a rag and shine it and the more you polish it, the more it’ll shine, but after awhile you reach the point where the extra lustre that can be added by further rubbing is not worth the effort. That’s the point of diminishing returns. When you’ve reached the point where the additional result obtainable is not worth the effort required to obtain it, that’s the point of diminishing returns.
With that in mind, I want to ask this question: Do you believe that one can ever reach the point of diminishing returns in his preparation for the work of the Lord? If by ever so much effort I can make myself, even to a small degree, a better preacher, don’t you believe I ought to do it? If by ever so much effort, one can become, to any extent whatsoever, a better song leader, don’t you believe he ought to do it?
And if by ever so much study and careful thought and planning, the overseers can make the work of the church even slightly more effective, don’t you think they ought to do it? Do you believe we can ever reach the point of diminishing returns in the work of the Lord? Don’t you agree that in his work all of us should do our very, very best? I believe you do.
That’s all we have time to say tonight. In just a moment we’re going to sing the invitation song that has been announced, and in doing so we shall be urging you to accept the Lord’s invitation. {These promises are offered to the unbeliever}[5]on conditions of faith, repentance and baptism (Mark 16:15, 16; Acts 2:38); and to the backslider on the conditions of repentance, confession and prayer (Acts 8:13, 22, 23; 1 John 1:9). As we stand and sing we entreat the lost to come to Jesus.
(Note: While this sermon was being presented the main headings of the following outline were on the blackboard. Before the second sermon on the same subject was delivered the following evening, a mimeographed copy of the entire outline was given to each person in the audience.)
To set in order the work of the local church it is well to consider the objectives or results desired. Below is a list of scriptural congregational objectives and some of the activities that will help to reach the objectives.
We are very glad to have visitors with us today. I will not undertake to name those who are present from other places, lest I omit one. But we want all of you to realize that you have a very hearty welcome. We’re always glad to have you worship with us.
I was very glad indeed to hear that splendid report given by Brother Gregory. I wish we could have more frequent reports from those who are being assisted in their work by the Chapel Avenue congregation. Let us remember that the gospel is being proclaimed today at half a dozen, or maybe a dozen, different places by preachers supported, at least in part, by the congregation here. To me, that is a very encouraging thought.
I want to talk to you this morning upon the topic, “Congregational Objectives and Activities.” The work of the church may be outlined in several different ways, but the most practical outline that I havebeen able to develop is one based upon theobjectivesof the church. In other words, what is the purpose of the church? What is the work that it should do, and how can it best do that work? I have listed on the board six or seven expressions according to which the scriptural objectives of the church may be classified: evangelistic, devotional, instructional, watching or looking after the members individually, practical training, beneficent, and incidental—some other activities which are incidental to these main objectives. These are Scriptural objectives. They are authorized by the word of God, and I believe that this outline covers everything which God intends for the church to do. Someone told me I had omitted recreational and social objectives. Well, I left those out on purpose, because I do not believe that they are authorized by the Bible. Hence, as far as I’m able to know, this list is complete.
Now I want to talk about one or two of these items at this time. Continuing the effort to give some practical lessons, I’m laying aside rhetoric or any other technical requirements for a good sermon which might stand in the way of practical effectiveness.
By the term evangelistic, of course, we mean preaching the gospel to the entire world. The Scriptural authority for that is found at many places in the Bible. For instance, the great commission as reported by Mark 16:15: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel unto every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned.” This commandment is very comprehensive. It says “Go into all the world” and theworld includes the people who live here at Chapel Avenue, those who live next door to you, even those who are in the house with you. It includes the people of this city, and then, of course, people in other cities and other states throughout the entire world. Therefore, we shall discuss this subject of evangelization under two headings: local and missionary.
God has given us a charge to keep as a congregation. He has charged us to preach the gospel unto the people of this community, as well as the people of other communities. Now the question is: “How can we do it?” There’s the command; it’s a general one. God charges us to preach the gospel unto the people who live in East Nashville, and as little as you may have thought about it, there are many thousands of people right here within a few blocks of our building who do not know about the church in the New Testament—who do not believe and study the Bible and are not acquainted with the distinguishing characteristics of the New Testament church.
Our problem is to get the truth unto these people. What means and what methods shall we use in carrying out this charge which God has given us? One method we use is that of preaching on the Lord’s day; Sunday sermons serve an evangelistic purpose to some extent. Some of the lessons are designed for the purpose of reaching those who are on the outside,and, of course, when that is the case, a special effort should be made to get the outsiders here to hear the lessons. These regular Lord’s day meetings, then, and the lessons which are presented morning and evening can be made to serve the purpose of evangelizing this community.
But we could not confine all the lessons to that type of thinking, for to do so would be to neglect some other important matters. Even if we did make all the lessons of an evangelistic nature that would not suffice to solve this problem, for that means alone will not reach all the unsaved, even of our own community. Too many of them are at home at this hour, or worshiping at some other place where the full gospel is not presented.
Most congregations supplement their Lord’s day preaching then by what is called protracted meetings, or revival meetings. Such meetings accomplish much good, and they should be executed with a definite purpose in mind. Some definite purpose should characterize every activity of the church. When we hold another protracted meeting, we want to think of it as a means of helping us carry out the God-given charge to preach the gospel unto the people in East Nashville. As long as there is one soul within our reach who has not heard the truth or who has not been properly exhorted to obey it, you and Ihave not finished our job. Keeping the purpose of reaching the unsaved of this community clearly in mind as we plan and conduct our next meeting will contribute much to its success.
You will agree with me that if we should depend entirely upon Lord’s day preaching and upon protracted meetings, we would never reach all the unsaved even in our own community. God has not prescribed that our efforts shall be confined unto these methods. He has given us a general charge to preach the gospel to all the world. He expects us to use some intelligence and some good judgment in carrying out this command.
And, friends, he expects us to use every means which is at our disposal in order to make the job complete. Of course, I mean every Scriptural or legitimate means. For no other sort of means would accomplish the purpose intended. We would make a very serious mistake, then, if we relied upon any one method alone. God expects us to use every method that is legitimate within its nature in order to carry out this charge.
What are some of the other things which can be done along this line? First, we can make a greater effort to get people to come to the meetings—supplement the public meetings by putting on a special effort to get people to attend them. Newspaper advertisingwould be very helpful. Personal visits and invitations to attend the meetings can be used to good advantage. Another means of attracting people to the place where the gospel is preached, is publicizing reports of what is being done. Nothing succeeds like success. Andif a church will do what God intends for it to do, it will be news!
One preacher blamed the churches themselves for not getting more newspaper publicity. He said “If there were a church which practiced what it preached, it would get its name in the headlines of the daily paper.” If you’ll stop to analyze his statement, you’ll almost have to admit that he told the truth. We are not seeking publicity for its own sake, but the Bible says “Let your light shine,” and condemns the putting of your candle under a bushel where no one can see it.
When the church does something which is worthwhile and would serve as a fine example for others, it is our duty to give it the publicity which it deserves in order that others may profit by the example. Such is authorized by the commandment, “Let your light shine, that others may see your good works and glorify God.”
Another means which might be used to carry out this charge is radio preaching. Of course, there has been much of this done already in the city of Nashville, but there are many other places where it hasnot been done, and where it should be used as one of the methods of carrying out the commandment to preach the gospel to the whole world. Wherever the radio is used every possible effort should be made to form personal contact with those who become interested.
I know a number of congregations that are publishing short articles in the daily paper. The daily paper is a very fine medium through which to reach the public. The business world has known this for a long time. That’s the reason you see so many and such costly advertisements in our daily papers. Our merchants know that this is an effective way to reach the public. Jesus said that the men of this world are for their own generation wiser than the sons of light. It may be that this statement is applicable here, for too often churches have overlooked the use of the radio and especially the use of the daily paper as a medium through which to reach the public.
Remember, God has charged us to preach the gospel to everybody, and one soul is worth more than all the money in the world. If by ever so much use of the daily press, we can accomplish the salvation of just one soul it would be worth a million times what it cost. If we will stop to consider the value of just one soul, we will see the great importance of using every means that we can to win lost souls for Christ. Now, I’m just naming some different activities here which will help us to fulfill this duty, or to reach the objective of evangelizing our own community. Do not think that this list is complete; it is intendedrather to be suggestive. Perhaps you can think of other means which would also help in accomplishing this task.
But even after we have done all these things there will still be some people who are not yet reached. The church here has been engaged in publishing and distributing tracts. This is another means which we can use to reach our neighbors. I wish we had some system of regularly placing tracts, appropriate tracts, in every home in this community. We can help to preach the gospel to the world by carrying tracts in person to those who live in our neighborhood, and by placing tracts in public places—the Y. M. C. A., the Y. W. C. A., the bus station, the Union Station, and other such places. The churches of Christ in general have neglected this opportunity; if you doubt this statement, visit some of these places—hospitals, terminals, etc.—and you will realize that we have been letting an opportunity slip by us in this respect.
Then our tracts in the church lobby may be used to serve a good purpose. I’m glad that Brother Billingsley has taken the initiative in providing some racks for them, because the truth should be displayed just as effectively as possible. I believe that you will agree that in the past the tracts in the lobby have not been attractively arranged. If I should preach a sermon as ragged in its appearance as that displayof tracts has been, you would fire me. You’d say you didn’t want the truth wrapped up in that sort of a garment. We need to look out after details and take advantage of every possible means to make the preaching of the gospel more effective. Paul said, “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; to them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you” (1 Cor. 9:19-23).
In addition to all these methods, personal evangelism should be greatly emphasized. Here is perhaps the greatest weakness in the method of the churches of Christ today. On this point, we are allowing some advocates of error to run circles around us. Here is a great unworked field which, when properly worked, will bring results of which we have not yet dreamed.
The Bible does not command people to come to our public meetings. If we can reach them by thesepublic meetings, that’s fine. If we can persuade them to come so that we may preach the gospel to a large number at once, that’s fine. But what will we do for those who don’t come? The Bible says “Go.” We have not fully discharged our duty when we invite people to come to us. And we haven’t always invited them! There are, I am sure, hundreds of people living almost in sight of this building who have not received a personal invitation to attend the meetings at this place.
They ought to receive at least a personal invitation. But even then, that’s not sufficient. If they still don’t come, it becomes our duty to go to them. Have we obeyed the great commission, even in reference to East Nashville, until we do so? It will help a great deal if we have a prospect file, both general and individual. Every good insurance agent in this town has a prospect file. He knows to whom he will try to sell insurance in the next few days. And we ought to use the same practical common sense in executing the work of the Lord that men use in selling insurance.
I went to a place one time to hold a meeting where they had made very elaborate preparations. They had appointed many committees. They had an advertising committee, a publicity committee, a parking committee, a flower committee, and an ushering committee, and everything else you can think of except one little item. They had failed to consider who might be saved during the meeting, and when I asked one of the elders whom he expected to be baptized,he hesitated, thought for a while, and finally named one of the boys who had been coming to the services. They expected to have forty or fifty additions, but they had never thought about who these additions would be.
What would you think of an automobile salesman with no prospects in mind, who went in on Monday morning and told the sales manager that he was going to sell five automobiles during the week? The sales manager would probably ask, “Well, to whom?” The agent would reply, “Oh, I don’t know; I just believe there must be five people in town who’ll buy from me this week.” Do you think the sales manager would be encouraged? Why he would realize that the salesman didn’t know what he was talking about. Every congregation ought to have a prospect list, and every individual worker in the Lord’s kingdom ought to have a prospect list. Whom will you try to save during the next twelve months? Every Christian should be a soul winner for Jesus, and you can lead someone to Christ if you are willing to be used by him in so doing. There is much more that could be said along this line if time permitted.
One congregation has used very effectively the method of community Bible classes. When the members could not get people to come to their meeting-house, they carried Bible classes to the communities where the people lived. Some good Christian who had the respect of his neighbors invited those neighbors to his home for Bible study and had the preacher there to help with the teaching. At Richmond, Virginia,most of the additions which they have had during the last six months have come from just such a source. If this little method were put in effect in the city of Nashville by all the congregations, it would revolutionize this town in just a few months.
The thing I’m trying to impress upon your minds is that we have not been using all the means or methods which God has placed at our disposal. Let me make the point just as concrete and effective as possible by using a definite example. (Maybe it’s indefinite in some respects.) Suppose that we have a young lady brought up here in our own community, maybe not living more than two or three blocks from our church building. We will call her Mary Doe. What are the chances that she will learn the truth from our program of evangelism? We’ll say that she has been reared by parents who go regularly to a denominational church. They’ve been taking her there ever since she was a tiny baby. They’ve taught her to believe in their particular denomination. They have built up within her a denominational pride and a sense of loyalty to the church of her parents.
At that church, she never hears the complete plan of salvation. She hears some nice, moral lectures. She goes to the Bible classes and discusses current events and general social problems. If she’s like many suchyoung people, she does not read the Bible very systematically herself. She may read it occasionally, but not consistently and understandingly. The chances are that Mary Doe will never learn the proper division of the word. She might live in such an environment for fifty years and never learn the difference between the old covenant and the new covenant.
Perhaps she and her mother ride by our building sometime and she says, “Mother, what church is that?” The mother replies, “Oh, that’s the church of Christ” or maybe she’ll say, “The Campbellite church. They think baptism alone saves you.” Well, Mary Doe believes that, even though it isn’t true. Consequently she’ll probably never come to one of our meetings. Very likely she’ll never read any of our literature. How shall we reach Mary Doe?
Probably her best chance to learn the truth is through her contact with our own children in the public schools. That is a common meeting place, and I suspect Mary will be more likely to have an intimate contact with a member of the church at school than at any other place. Had you ever thought about that as an opportunity for evangelizing East Nashville? I wonder if our boys and girls in school are taking advantage of their opportunity. Have you realized what a wonderful opportunity it is, and are you behaving yourself in such a way as to demand respect from your fellow students that you may be able to teach them the truth? Or do you so misbehave that you would be a little bit embarrassed to undertaketo show them the difference between truth and error? There is a golden opportunity for personal evangelism that might be used even by a school boy or girl in leading many people unto the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Personal evangelism then may be carried out through personal contact at school, through personal contact at work, and through personal contact at play or in our social relationships.
And, finally, my friends, it might be possible that before we could reach Mary Doe and the several thousand people whom she represents, we would have to start down the street and go from house to house and call upon every home. It could be possible that Mary would not be thrown with any member of the church, even in her association at school. Do you believe we can claim to have fully and completely met our responsibility, in preaching the gospel to the people of East Nashville, until we have gone from house to house as the apostle Paul did, and as some denominations are doing today, and taken the message to them? That is almost an unused opportunity and method of preaching the gospel to those who have not yet heard it, and yet it is a very practical and a very effective one.